Fund Watch: Change of manager gives new life to mid-cap fund

How has it performed? The fund has a poor record over three years. If you had invested ??1,000 in September 2000 you would have ??550 left after charges, compared with ??701 for the average growth fund.

But returns have improved markedly since Allianz Dresdner appointed Trevor Green from Credit Suisse to manage the portfolio in March 2002.

If you had invested ??1,000 in the fund a year ago, you would have ??1,194 today, compared with an average of ??1,079. The improvement has lifted the fund from 235th in its sector over three years to 13th.

Green says: ??There used to be a bias towards technology stocks and more speculative shares. But I look for companies that produce steady growth.??

The strong performance of the FTSE Mid 250 index since March has also helped the fund. Since March 1, the